MONDAY is here again.  But at least it is Halloween!!   HAPPY HALLOWEEN.   Josh was busy making dummy's last night for the yard and setting up the sound system and strobe lights for Halloween.    We always have fun with Halloween.   Erik is very excited that he is a part of it this year.   I didn't wear my costume to the Hallelujah festival last night since Tommy decided to be a pirate instead of Shrek.  Now tonight he wants to be a skeleton instead of Shrek.   OH well.........

I have my last appointment today at 1:00 so I will be home after that one.  We hope to eat quickly and take Tommy out to trick or treat.   Erik will be able to go with his friends for a bit.  He has alot of homework.   Over the weekend the math teacher sent home his grade sheet and he was suppose to complete his missing assignments.   So we will have to work on those on Monday and Tuesday in addition to his other homework.  YIKES! 

NOt too much else going on....I am off to work.  Have a great day!

Just got home from church.  I helped set up for the Hallelujah Festival.   I have about an hour before it starts.  Tommy can't wait to go.   I am not sure if we are both dressing up or only Tommy.  We will see what he decided.  I had planned super for tonight, but I didn't know supper was supplied at church so we will be eating there instead.  I haven't cooked a meal all weekend.....AAAAAH....so nice. 

Hubby made brunch for us when we got home from church.   I hurt my ribs the other day and they really hurt.   Erik wasn't at church this morning so we didn't get to talk to him to see how homework was going.   He will be disappointed that he missed the Hallelujah Festival as well.   Josh might be going with us after he get home from work.  He works until 5:00. 

Good Morning.....Last night we turned our clocks back by one hour, but of course I got up at the same time as always.  But it did give me an extra hour to get things done before church.   I was able to brown and package 4 pounds of hamburger for future meals.  I also updated my freezer inventory and menu. 

 FREEZER INVENTORY - This take some effort to keep up, but well worth it.  I keep an inventory of each of our freezers, which really helps with meal planning and using up our food.   I have an inventory for my upstairs freezer, where I keep more of my cooked meats for future meals.  I have a separate one for the downstairs freezer which has all the other meat and prepared meals.   The key is to remember to cross off items as you use them. 

Now I am off to take a shower and get ready for church.  Have a great day!

AAAh.....my quiet time.  Everyone is busy.....hubby in on his computer working on the church website.   Josh, Kyle, Amy and another teen are working on making Halloween Dummies.  Tommy is helping them still.   I suppose most of the Halloween Decorations will be up by tomorrow.   Me.....my work in done for the evening and I am going to take a hot bath and read.

Since getting up from nap we played Tommy's new Pirate Treasure Board Game with him.  He liked it!   Then we had a quick supper.   I cut up the vacuum sealed the Cooked, chopped chicken.   All I have left for cooking that I want to get done is 4 pounds of hamburger and make a weight watchers veggie soup to freeze for my lunches.  I have done about 4 loads of laundry today as well.  I have more to do tomorrow.  

We are at church alot tomorrow so not as much time at home.   Hmm....I want to be able to get a nap in tomorrow as well.   Well my hot bath and book are calling me...have a great night!

Hello - well today I slept in until 8:00, that felt great!   I got up and switched around some laundry and swept the living room while my breakfast cooked.  We ran to the library, Target and Sam's Club.   Sam's was out of the size of Pull-ups that Tommy wears for bedtime.  YIKES...we have enough for a few more days.   We picked up two shirts for Erik at Target.  

Once we were home I made lunch.  While lunch was in the oven I boiled 9 pounds of chicken that I will be chopping up for future meals.   I also browned 3 pounds of ground turkey and 2 pounds of ground chicken.   The browned meat is in the upstairs freezer.  I cleaned out that freezer as well.   I will cut up the chicken breasts after nap time. 

I am off to switch around laundry and then take a nap with Tommy.  After nap we are going to play some board games with Tommy.  We don't have as much time to do that when all the boys are around so this is Tommy's weekend to spend with Mommy and Daddy and play the things he wants.  We are going to teach him to play Old Maid and Go Fish this weekend too.   I also have a recipe for pumpkin play dough that I want to try.  Tomorrow we are going to the Hallelujah Festival.    I have to be there early to help with set up. 

Hope everyone is having a great day!!!  LATER!

The Freezer is all done!!  YEAH!    I have a list to update my freezer inventory.  Then  I will be centering my menu planning around what is in our freezer to cut down on our food budget through the holidays.   Tomorrow I am going to cook up some ground chicken, turkey, beef and onions  for future meals.  

WEEKEND TO DO:

Master Bedroom - Dust and Strighten Night stands
Clear Hubby's Dresser
Cook Meats and Onions for Future Meals
Complete Gift Inventory

Time for Bed....have a great night!

I have accomplished alot since getting off work today.  That feels great.  Of course my wonderful hubby is helping.  I appreciate that the most.  He is great!   After work I went to Aldi and Cub Foods.  Over my lunch break I had stopped at Target and The Dollar Tree.   I stayed within my budget and I bought 18 pounds of chicken breasts.  WOW!  

TIPS TO SAVING MONEY:

• Purchase crackers and snacks at Dollar Store (they have the equivalent of goldfish crackers and Teddy Grahams for only a $1.00 - Larger box than the grocery store too!)


• Buy Christmas Gift Wrap at Dollar store now when it first comes out. 


• Stock up on meat when on sale - WisconsinMomof2 mentioned that sales runabout every 8 weeks.  So I stock up on enough to last about 8 weeks.  Today I got 2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken for $3.99.  


• Shop Aldi first...then pick up sale items or items not carried at Aldi from store with the best sale items - Cub Foods this week.

I had budgeted 140.00 for groceries since I didn't buy any last week and was very low on many items.   I only spent 120.00 and that included buying 18 pounds of chicken and a ham.  I am pretty happy with that. 

Once I got home we put away the groceries and decided to defrost the large freezer downstairs.  Erik and Josh have both left the door open and it was so frosted.   We are about done with defrosting it.   We borrowed a couple of ice chest from the neighbors.   hubby got everything out of the freezer for me while I was eating supper.   When we put the food back in I will update our freezer inventory form too.    This will be great to have this organized again.   It is great to have a major project out of the way on Friday night!

Once I am done with this I am heading to bed to read my new magazine!!   Thanks to FireWifeMom I  picked up the new Rachel Rae magazine!  I can't wait to read it!

YIKES.....school conferences time.   I have notices for meetings flying into my mailbox.  Every parent wants me to attend their child's conference.  Yikes...with over 60 cases, that isn't going to happen.  I guess it will have to be a first come basis.   Of course most parents have evening conferences so that means I am going to be working a lot of evenings.   I hate this time of year!   I am soooooo incredibly busy.   Of course my hubby asks me to send all these emails regarding Erik's school work.  Then he asked me to send another email and I flat out refused.   Some things he needs to take care of on his own.   I don't want to be involved.  He says he is too busy at work to do it....hmmm...me too!  But of course I honor most of his requests of me....honor thy husband.

Soups & Sandwiches

Taco Chili

Assembly Directions:
Brown ground beef. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the taco seasoning, tomatoes, salsa, corn, kidney beans and black beans. Stir to mix. When the ground beef is cooked, drain off any fat, then add it to the bowl of other ingredients and stir to combine.

Freezing Directions:
Freeze in freezer bags or rigid containers based on your family size. Seal, label and freeze.

Serving Directions:
Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Heat mixture in a saucepan on the stove until it’s hot and bubbly. Spoon into bowls. Top each bowl with a spoon of sour cream and a sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese. Serve with tortilla chips on the side for scooping to eat it… don’t use a spoon!

Tammy’s Comments:
This chili was an instant favorite with my family! It’s quick and easy to put together too. You can control the spicy-ness by choosing mild or hot salsa. If you really like salsa, add a bigger jar. If you really like hot and spicy, add a 4 ounce can of diced green chilies, drained. You can add a can of sliced black olives (drained) too, if your family likes them. Feel free to use low fat or fat free sour cream or cheese, if desired.